Bravery, Honor, Loyalty
by CastleGhost9095
Summary: With tragedy unfolding all around them, can these two young people find love? Struggling to survive Voldemort and their NEWTS, they must hold onto each other to make it through. A story of love in the darkest of times, of friendship at its strongest and weakest, of Bravery, Honor, and Loyalty. Lily/James
1. A Not So Unexpected Appointment

AN: All recognizable characters are the creation of JK Rowling. All others are mine. No copyright infringement is intended

Chapter One – A Not so Unexpected Appointment

_02 August 1977_

_My mum gave me this journal because she says that I will eventually want to remember all the details of my final year at school, but it's more that she's concerned with how I'm dealing with Da's passing. We'd been expecting it, but the death of a beloved father is not something one can prepare for. It's not like a Transfiguration exam. Things don't make sense if you think about it long enough and they can't be rationalized into order. I've never been the most regular correspondent so these entries will most likely be few and far between. I'll begin by telling you about my summer. _

_When I arrived home from school, I was quite tired from exams and ready for the year to be over. There had been plenty of pain and heartache over the year, with few days of lightness. Petunia and Vernon were waiting at the entrance of King's Cross, as my Da had written they would be. Dad had not mentioned his rapid decline in health; his diagnosis had been discovered in October. My parents had told me towards the end of winter holidays, and I had been distraught. I had heard from my friend Alice about her poor sister on Christmas, and had then spent many days of the holiday with her. Da had remained cheerful in his letters so I had been utterly unprepared for his appearance when I arrived home. My Da had always been a tall, broad shouldered, imposing sort of fellow. He was the life of every party and was always good for words of encouragement. He loved footie and going to the pub with his mates on a Friday evening to get out of mum's hair for her book club. He was robust, so unflaggingly healthy that I had half expected him to write me in April saying that he had been cured, and not to worry._

_The man who occupied my Da's favorite chair by the hearth was thin and drawn. His skin was tight, allowing me to easily see how slim his bones were. His eyes were sunken, his face ashen, and a cannula and oxygen tank had been his most constant companions. He used a wheelchair to move around the house and he took lots of naps to try to hold onto the little strength he still possessed. The cancer wasn't killing him slowly; it was devouring his body, ravaging his lungs first, his dignity, and his family. Advanced lung cancer had likely been the result of smoking almost every day of his life, making frequent trips to the coal mining towns his job require him to liaise with and the most horrid fortune in the world._

_Da passed away 12 July. We buried him quickly and I spent the whole of July crying. I love my mum, and Tuney – most days – but my Da was one of my favorite people in the entire world. He wasn't just my Da and good for some extra allowance for a shopping outing, like he was for Petunia; he was a friend who got all my stupid jokes, probably because I'd heard them first from him. He wanted to know all about Hogwarts and the people and the classes. Da wrote me weekly, keeping me up on all the goings on of the Evans' house. In turn, I wrote him tales of my magical friends and the crazy things that happened in lessons. He read the introductory texts on all my subjects and did his absolute best to understand the strange world I lived in most of the year. He read the __Daily Prophet__ and wrote to me about what was happening in the Muggle world. Mum tried too, but the idea of frogspawn and hexes and curses frightened her and try as she might, she couldn't merge her mental picture of me – sweet, simple bookish Lily – with her own mental image of a witch – pointy hat, warts, and a cackling laugh. And the less said on Tuney's feelings about magic or "freakishness", the better._

_My mates had apparated over as soon as they'd received notice. Marley, Alice, and Cass – Marlene Wainwright, Alice Neville, and Cassandra Newsom, that is – had spent the week of the funeral keeping the house clean with little flicks of their wands and Marley had brought over loads of food her mum had made. Marley was a muggleborn like me, and did her best to keep Alice – a pureblood – and Cass – a half blood – from making any noticeable gaffs. They'd kept me sane and my temper on a leash, something that was always needed when my sister and I were forced into close quarters. Alice had been a godsend; she knew what it was to lose close family and be hurting so much that you thought you might die from it. Alice was three years younger than her sister, Cara, and she was the sort of big sister you dreamt of having; always there when you needed her, a shoulder to cry on when the boy you fancied didn't fancy you in return, and to lend you a really cute outfit just because she thought you'd look nice in it. I had had a better relationship with my friend's older sister than I had with my actual sister. Cara had been a champion for muggleborns, even when she was a young student. She had been a prefect and Head Girl. She was pushing for somewhat unpopular legislation that would make denying employment, lodgings, or other services to muggleborns a criminal act. She'd gone missing shortly into September 1976, never making it to dinner with her fiancé, Gideon Prewett, who had raised the alarm and she had been deposited in front of the Neville family's ancestral home with the Dark Mark above a day before Christmas. She had been tortured repeatedly with the Cruciatous and other means and murdered. Alice had been beside herself. I didn't know how to help her as my Da had just told me the diagnosis. I'd gone to the funeral and Alice's mother had been pale and glassy eyed, much like my own mother had been after Da died. She'd seemed not of this world, and had yet to accept that Cara was dead. Gideon had concerned Alice's family and his own tremendously when he had nearly leapt into the grave with the casket to place a glowing globe of bright white light on top of the polished wood. His twin had dragged him out and later told Alice that all he'd gotten out of his brother was that he'd done it because Cara was "afraid of the dark". Grief affected people in many ways, and Alice had remained concern for the boy who was like a brother to her. _

_Cass, Marley, and Alice kept us busy and our little family made all the arrangements, which was really just fulfilling all the plans Da had set when he was diagnosed. _

_-Mum is calling, must run. Ta! – Lily_

As she entered the kitchen, she saw her mum watching a strange owl as it settled on the window sill. Lily's owl, a lovely, if moody, tawny creature named Rhys, eyed it nastily. Rhys didn't much care for other owls, which is why he slept in her dormitory at school instead of the owlery. She took the letter the strange owl offered and opened it, removing a letter and a gold pin with the Hogwarts crest on it. She recognized it immediately, but wondered why it was enclosed.

She flipped the letter open and read,

_Dear Miss Evans,_

_I was very sorry to hear from Professor McGonagall of your father's passing. I lost my mother was I was about your age and my father many years before. Each loss is different and I could not say that I know how you feel with honesty, as I imagine you hardly do either. Your father was surely an excellent man, who must have always been extraordinarily proud of you._

_Miss Evans, I'd like to offer you the position of Head Girl for the upcoming school year. If you would be so kind as to send your response by return post to either Professor McGonagall or myself, I would be much obliged. We have complete confidence in your ability to lead the prefects and we believe that with the Head Boy, our school will be in excellent hands._

_My condolences once again,_

_A.P.W.B. Dumbledore_

"Well, what is it?" Laurel Evans asked, peering anxiously at her younger daughter.

"It's a letter from the Headmaster…he was offering me the position of Head Girl," Lily said, finally, rubbing her thumb over the shiny gold front of the badge.

"How wonderful! Lily, I'm so proud of you," Laurel smiled, giving her a hug, and kissing her temple. "You'll have to show Petunia and your –" she broke off, smile immediately dimming as she remembered that there was nobody else to show. Her lips trembled before she pressed them into a tight line that became a determinedly cheerful contortion of her mouth. "We'll have to celebrate. We'll go to dinner at whichever restaurant you wish and we'll have to get you something to mark the honor. Is there anything you've been wanting, dear?"

"No, Mum, but dinner sounds lovely. Perhaps the little Indian place?" Lily suggested eagerly.

"Petunia won't-" Laurel started, before changing her mind and continuing, "How about we go to London? We'll make a weekend of it, and get your school supplies, and stay at a hotel." Laurel continued on, "We could get our nails done, and you do need a haircut, so what do you say Lily-love?"

Petunia won't go to a place operated by Indians because Vernon disliked and mistrusted anyone of foreign ancestry, Lily thought. She supposed that asking to go without Petunia, just her and her mum, wouldn't work, so she agreed to her mum's plan to go to London and have a weekend. Petunia would be unpleasant, but their mother liked to have them together and this was why Lily had been subjected to Vernon six nights a week over supper, which was never cooked properly according to him, unless Petunia had done something to contribute, which was practically never. He looked at Lily like she was rubbish that should have been put out years ago, and made nastily irritating remarks about her taste in muggle music – "Rock and Roll, how dreadfully inappropriate for a girl!", her appearance – "Red hair makes you look very odd; you should have it done in the salon to look like Petunia's," – and the wizarding world. This was after Da had forced Petunia to tell him that Lily was not a boarding student at a school for the incurably criminal. Lily kept her mouth shut to keep the peace, but inside she was seething.

Lily wrote to Alice, Marley, and Cassie to tell them her good news and make plans to go to Diagon Alley together. Cass responded that she couldn't make it, as she had to escort her sister, Julia, around.

*** Thanks ever so for reading, and I hope you'll review to let me know what you thought. This chapter had quite a bit of exposition but the action should pick up a bit more in the next few chapter.


	2. Chapter 2 - Insults and Misery

AN: Again, all you recognize comes from the wonderful JK Rowling, who, sadly, I am not. 

Chapter 2 – Insults and Misery

Lily had been exiled to the back seat, despite the purpose of the family outing, which was to celebrate her appointment as Head Girl. She grumbled a bit, but fell silent rather quickly as she was attempting to keep the peace for her mum's sake. Petunia spoke about her wedding plans the entire trip; the pink – PINK! – Bride's maids' dresses, how Petunia was going to select a florist in the next few weeks, a caterer, a band, etc. Lily would rather have sat through a double lecture History of Magic class and served detention for a month than listen to Petunia talk about her plans and have her sister make snide comments and unpleasant expressions. Petunia went so far as to suggest that Lily dye her hair so that she wouldn't be such an eyesore in the wedding photos. Laurel had interrupted, forbidding Lily to do such a thing and scolding Petunia for suggesting such a mean thing. Lily was a bride's maid, not because Petunia had chosen her in an outpouring of sisterly affection, but because the money their father had set aside for Petunia's wedding would only be released to her if Lily was a bride's maid. Brendan Evans was nothing if not realistic; he had always had a keen eye on the relationship between his daughters and knew that for Lily to be involved as his wife wished, Petunia would need a monetary reminder to rediscover her familial feelings. This fund did not require Petunia do anything to make Lily feel like a cherished member of the bridal party, mostly because Brendan knew that it was asking a bit more than his eldest daughter could manage. The engagement party was set for the day before Lily would return to Hogwarts from Christmas Hols and Lily was dreading it. She despised Vernon and could not – despite tremendous effort – find a good quality in him, except perhaps that he did love Petunia, though whether that counted as a good quality was questionable. He was a beefy man, with no neck, a large mustache, and a bloated belly that spoke to a life of extreme indulgence. He wore obnoxiously normal suits, not even a fun pocket square or tie to lighten his appearance. He was critical, bigoted, insensitive and rude. His very presence in their lives encouraged all of Petunia's worst excesses of funds and temper, and his presence in the Evans' home brought about the worst of Lily's moods. He was an abrasive abusive sort of man; the sort, Lily decided, who thought his day was not complete without reducing his secretary to tears.

When Laurel finally reached the hotel they were staying at, a bellboy unloaded the car and they were escorted inside to check in. Laurel passed the keys to the parking valet and signed for the room. She tucked an arm around Lily's shoulders and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"This will be wonderful girls. I made arrangements with the spa for us to get pampered tomorrow and we have reservations for tonight. I thought we'd go shopping together the day after the spa. Petunia, you and I can shop for a mother of the bride gown while Lily, sweetheart, you can meet with the girls the day after that, like you planned. How does that sound?"

"Thanks, Mum. I really appreciate this trip," Lily said, knowing that her mother was powering through because she believed her girls needed her. She was right; Petunia needed her to help with her wedding and Lily just plain needed her. Without her father, she was adrift in some of her choices.

As a young child, Lily had wanted to be a Princess – she would marry Prince Andrew as Charles was too old; she had later realized that it was one of those unattainable dreams, and refocused on becoming a teacher. Then she'd received her Hogwarts letter, and she's been caught up in the magic of it all. A career had become the last thing on her mind until fifth year when at her career counselling with Professor McGonagall, she had discussed all her options. Lily had been amazed to learn how many options there were. She had pursued all the classes which would benefit the different options she had settled on. Professor, Healer, Auror. She was leaning more towards the first two, but with the dangers presented by the current political landscape of Wizarding Britain, she thought that having a very good grasp on Defense could only benefit her. McGonagall had also noted Slughorn's suggestion that she open her own apothecary and work in the potion's field. Flitwick had suggested a special division in the ministry that worked on new spells and how to create them. McGonagall had encouraged her to try to find her passion in those things, arranging for her to tutor in a variety of subjects, for her to work in the Hospital Wing and learn a bit about Magical medicine.

"You're very welcome, sweetheart. I'm so proud of you. I just wish we could do more to celebrate." Laurel beamed at her baby - for no matter how old her Lily was, Laurel still considered Lily her baby – and continued, "Isn't that right Petunia?"

Petunia grumbled something unintelligible.

Misery was the best way to describe dinner. The lovely little restaurant that Laurel had made a reservation at would have been wonderful had it just been Laurel and Lily. The addition of Petunia had made dinner an uncomfortable affair, the poor waiter was young and both unused to and unable to handle someone as verbally abusive and demanding as Petunia. Laurel had tried to mitigate Petunia's behavior by quietly advising her eldest to be kinder to the young man, but Petunia had responded by becoming even more demanding. Lily had wanted to sink through the floor in embarrassment, as more than a few patrons of the restaurant had turned to see who was causing such a commotion.

At least with the day of pampering that Laurel had arranged, it was supposed to be a day of quiet relaxation. Lily enjoyed her massage and facial and she and her mother delighted in the attention of the friendly staff, who were more accommodating than house elves. Lily had chosen to have her nails painted a pretty pink, while her mother had chosen red. Petunia had chosen a very plain taupe-y color that made Lily question why Petunia had even gotten her nails done. They went shopping after, which Petunia complained about, as she didn't understand why Lily needed so many clothes when she went to school in uniform. Petunia had never missed an opportunity to pick at her sister. Lily was almost able to ignore her sister…_almost_. She had, over the years, become almost deaf to her sister's viper tongue, and the way insults rolled off it with ease. However, she was quite sure that if she had had to spend another ten minutes in company with her sister, she might have screamed, or worse yet, cried. She refused to give Petunia the satisfaction of knowing that she had been upset by her remarks, so she decided to soak in the tub once they were back in their hotel room, and locked herself in with a book to read. She had a good cry and emerged wrinkled, but with a firm grip on her emotions.

She turned in early, claiming that she wanted to get an early start the next day to meet with her friends. This appeased her mum, though Petunia would rather have had her sleep on a different planet than share a bed like they had as children on vacation.

She lay still with her eyes closed and listened to Laurel and Petunia arguing in low tones. "I am not sleeping in the same bed as the freak. She's going to contaminate me with her freakishness!"

"Petunia Elizabeth Evans! She is your sister and she is not a freak. She is gifted beyond our understanding. She loves you, Petunia; she always has," Laurel's voice was low and soft.

"I wish she'd never been born," Petunia spat coldly.

Lily froze in the bed. Of all the things she had expected to hear, this was not one of them. Laurel's sharp inhale told Lily that this was not something Petunia had ever voiced before. "Petunia," Laurel whispered in an anguished tone. "How could you?"

Petunia climbed stiffly into the other bed and slapped a hand down on the light. With a sigh, Laurel slid in next to Lily. Lily felt her mother's warm breath skim over her hair. Laurel brushed a hand over Lily's hair, smoothing it. Lily felt something wet drop onto her forehead. Her mother was crying. Laurel pressed her face into Lily's hair and whispered, "I love you, sweetheart. I will always love you even when I don't understand you."

Lily pressed her eyes shut tight, warding off her own tears. Eventually, she could discern the steady breathing of her mother and sister as they slept. Her own tears slid silently down her cheeks. When she finally fell asleep, her eyes were swollen and she felt like misery was her middle name.


	3. Chapter 3: Mania: Shopping and Otherwise

Chapter 3 – Mania: Shopping and Otherwise

The girls met at the Leaky Cauldron, and hugged, settling themselves at a private table in the corner that Alice had claimed when she'd arrived at the end of her shift. Since they had last seen each other, Alice had cut her hair. Instead of the long dark curls she had had all her years at Hogwarts, she had chopped it all off in favor of a short pixie with fringe, and it suited her sweet face perfectly. Her small stature and apple cheeks gave the impression of a gentle, cheerful person, while her eyes, a dark grey blue, were shadowed. Her sister's tortured body still haunted her dreams, and Dreamless Sleep potion was not something she was willing to risk going near. The potion was highly addictive, and dulled everything, emotions, senses – long time users noted a distinct decline in their sense of smell - and she needed to be sharper than ever. Her mentor had a habit of sneaking up on his pupils and shouting, "Constant Vigilance!" It had been horrifically startling the first time it had happened, and then she had learned to listen all the time, even for stillness and silence. She wore the highly functional dueling robes of an Auror trainee with knee length dragon-hide boots that were spelled to ensure silent footsteps. Dueling robes had slimmer cut sleeves than traditional robes, and the front of the robes were cut away from the hip. She wore the typical leather trousers of an Auror as well.

When her friends exclaimed over her short hair, she finger combed it, straightening it into some semblance of order. "It's easier for Auror training," she confessed with a smile, "Frank misses my long hair though." Alice's fiancé had yet to reconcile himself to the short haircut that Alice now sported, missing the long chestnut curls that he had liked to bury his hands in when they were alone.

"I'll bet he does," Marley teased, "but it looks wonderful. I know Andrew would have kittens if I cut mine." Andrew McKinnon was Marley's boyfriend of three years and they were perfectly happy together. Lily did not recall them ever fighting with each other; sure they bickered and bantered like an old married couple, but their relationship did not tend towards explosive displays of temper, despite the fact that Marlene did have an ugly temper when roused. Andrew had graduated with Alice and Frank, and had taken an apprenticeship in the Department of Mysteries, and was working to become an Unspeakable. Marley supported him, but for someone who was as insatiably curious as Marley, having a boyfriend whose job was literally 'unspeakable' wasn't all that fun. Marley was as opposite from Alice as possible; her honey blonde hair was long and bouncy. She had sun-kissed skin – a result of hanging around the Riviera with her Mum and Dad – and a tall, athletic figure that was the result of being a chaser on the Gryffindor House team since her third year, and a lifetime of swimming. She wore the very Muggle trend of a long bohemian skirt with a peasant blouse and large gold bangles on her wrists with large hoop earrings. Her overlarge sunglasses covered eyes that were so dark a blue they were almost violet.

"How is Andrew?" Alice asked. "I mean, I work in the same building as him, and I hardly see him, let alone speak with him. "

"He's good, busy, of course. His bosses have him working insane hours, and he hardly sleeps. The department gets so few viable applicants that the ones they have are worked to death. They're running him positively ragged, the poor dear. We got to spend the weekend together, which was lovely. He came to my house and he apparated us to the family estate in Yorkshire. Nobody was there because his Mum and Dad were with Thom shopping – he's going into his third year. Andrew was so romantic! He had dinner set on the lawn and we had a picnic, and went flying, and it was just so lovely."

"I'm glad you had a good time," Lily said, tucking a red curl behind her ear. Her dress was navy with tiny white polka dots and her tennis shoes were white. Her clothes were Mother-selected, which didn't bother Lily at all, as she hardly ever wore them. Her own taste ran towards comfy denim jeans, over large knit jumpers that she'd nicked from her dad over the holidays, and warm socks. "I've spent the last two days with my Mum and Tuney. I love Mum, but she needs to realize that Tuney and I will not get along. She kept making all these snide comments about how my getting Head Girl was clearly an indicator of the school, as I must just be the most freakish of all the freaks."

"Who is the head boy? Did it say?" Marlene asked, curiosity coloring her tone.

"Dumbledore didn't say, but the prefects always speculate before the end of term. We had a short list, only six or so people, right Alice?" She counted off on her fingers, "It was Benjy Fenwick, Eddie Bones, Snape, Remus Lupin, Potter, and Dirk Cresswell. Oh, and Johnny Calhoun too, now that I think about it." Lily shrugged her shoulders, "As long as it's not Snape or Cresswell, I can manage. Calhoun is pompous, but he's not a bigot and neither are the other four."

"So you'd be fine if it was Potter?" Alice Neville asked, well aware of Potter's speculated odds, as she had been Head Girl the previous year with Frank as Head Boy.

"He's been better recently," Lily shrugged again. "Do I think we'd get on great? Not really. But we're not auditioning him for my best mate. It's for Head Boy. He could play Quidditch professionally if he wanted so that'll keep some of them in line, he's very bright for all that he goofs off in lessons, he's pureblood so he can lecture the ones who would disregard me for that reason, he's very popular, and he's gotten better over sixth year. His mum was quite ill over the Easter holidays, you know, and he was different when he came back to school. It…matured him a little."

"Bloody Hell Lily! That's practically a declaration of love coming from you!" Marley laughed, tossing her loose blonde plait over her shoulder.

Color suffused Lily's cheeks, and she retorted sharply, "It's not a big deal. I'll give credit where it's due. He has grown up a little, and he isn't nearly as arrogant as before, which means that if I have to work with him, it won't be nearly as awful as it could have been. He's also a bit of a laugh when he's not being a prat, so he could be good for morale. But, at the same time, Eddie Bones could be Head Boy. He _is_ a legacy; his older sister Amelia was head girl our 3rd year, and their sister Claudina our fifth year."

"If you judge it just off legacy, then Bellatrix Black should have been it your second year," Alice exclaimed, "her sister Andromeda was head the year before, and their youngest sister, Narcissa, should have had it when Amelia had it. Andromeda was so nice. She married that muggleborn boy who was the other Head her year, you know, Ted Tonks, nice chap. Quite the scandal though for a daughter of the 'Most Noble and Ancient House of Black' to marry so far out of society. Normally, the Blacks just pick a cousin and get hitched."

"Excuse me?" Lily choked.

"It's pretty common in pureblood families who believe in 'the purity of the wizarding world'," Alice said lightly, the shadows in her eyes betraying her tone. "If she hadn't married Ted when she did, she might have been married off to an uncle or someone else that's only so many relations off to keep the Blacks pure."

"When you say Black, do you mean Sirius's family?" Lily asked. She'd never had such an outpouring of information on purebloods. She knew Sirius was a pureblood, and a very wealthy one, but he didn't have the death eater attitude that seemed to accompany the type of people who would intermarry in their own family to avoid 'dirtying' their bloodlines.

Alice stared. "Sirius Black is the heir of the Blacks. He'll eventually take his grandfather's seat on the Wizengamot. His mother and father are cousins, first or second cousins, I think, Orion and Walburga. I've only met them a few times, at Ministry gatherings because of my Dad and just last week at a family party for Frank's gran, Callidora. She was a Black before she married into the Longbottoms."

"What were they like?" Marley asked. Marlene Wainwright was the most innately curious person Lily had ever met and being told to drop something, normally only made her dig deeper.

Alice thought for moment, trying to find the best word for Sirius's family. "Cold," Alice said finally, her brow creasing. "Fanatical at times. I was utterly taken aback by how they spoke to Frank's cousin Algy's wife. You remember Algy – he was on the Quidditch team when you were first years – and Julianna? She was Head Girl when you were second years, Hufflepuff, beat out Bellatrix Black – she's a LeStrange now actually. Julianna is a muggleborn and when they realized, they went off. How all those of impure blood should be exterminated. Started interrogating her about who she had stolen her magic from. Ludicrous questions."

"Merlin, can you imagine growing up in a house like that?"

Alice continued, "Sirius's aunt and uncle and their children – the ones they still acknowledge anyways – were there too. So it was Orion and Walburga, her brother Cygnus – their other brother died a few months ago – and Cygnus's wife, Druella, who's a Rosier – sister to Evan and Patricia's Dad – and their two daughters, Bellatrix and Narcissa, who each had their husbands in tow. Rodolphus LeStrange and Lucius Malfoy. The LeStranges kept giving me and Frank these dirty looks, and she kept sneering at us whenever somebody asked us about Auror training. She was a lunatic when we were in school; I remember Cara used to," she swallowed hard, "Cara told me to stay away from her, and I told you girls to as well. Cara was a brand new prefect when she caught Bellatrix jinxing some muggleborn first years. Cara was Cara and she gave her as much detention as possible and was in Dumbledore's office about it. I don't know if you'd remember-"

"I do," Marley and Lily both responded.

"She and Bellatrix were never friendly and Cara could never prove it but the week she spent in the Hospital Wing that year, she always thought it was Bellatrix. Anyways, at this dinner for Frank's Gran, they're all there and more _horrible_, _unpleasant_ people I've never met. The Malfoys were at Cara's funeral – his dad has business dealings with my granddad and dad, so they came – but I hadn't seen Bellatrix since she left school. She gave me this simpering look, like this," Alice screwed up her face in a moue of mock pity and sympathy, "and said – I'm trying to remember how she phrased it – said that she hoped Cara's 'unfortunate accident would remind people how dangerous it was to consort with muggleborns and rabble.'" She glanced at her friends, "She wasn't so polite in her terminology."

"What a bitch!" Marley snarled. "I would have hexed her if I'd been there. In fact, next time I see her, I'm going to take her head off. How dare she even say Cara's name!"

Lily caught Alice's hand on the tabletop and squeezed in silent sympathy. "Oh Alice," the sorrow in Lily's eyes was as sincere as her indignation. Her compassion, Alice reflected, would make Lily an excellent Head Girl, and reminded her a little too much of her sister for comfort.

"I almost took a swing at her, but Frank grabbed my arm, and tugged me off to his room to cool off. I still wish I could have flattened the bitch but I'm glad I didn't do it at his Gran's party. She thinks I'm a brute, and that my Auror training is proof that I'm an unnatural female, and that I should stay home and plan the wedding and then move into _Ghleann Fada_ and start having babies and making flower arrangements." She sighed. "Frank tells me to ignore her, that she's an old biddy and from a completely different time with outdated ideas, but every time I see her – and I see her a lot these days – she looks at me like Frank could do better. She even said something about Cara; not by name, but she said that people who stirred up trouble deserved the trouble that came to them. Frank talked to her about it, but she's his Gran!"

"And you're his fiancée! He can't help being related to hateful bitches any more than Lily can, but he chose you. He loves you, and if that big shiny rock on your finger doesn't remind you of that every time you wiggle your fingers, you need your head examined." Marley's brand of honesty was exactly what Alice needed.

A sudden flash of two bright blonde heads coming through the floo caught Alice's eye and she stood to embrace her friend. "Cassie! I thought you couldn't make it!"

Lily and Marley were out of their chairs in a heartbeat to smile and say their hellos.

"Mum relented, but I had to bring Georgie along, as you can see." Cassandra and her younger sister, Georgiana, were short, pale, icy blondes with cornflower blue eyes. The Newsom sisters were half bloods – their father was a muggleborn and their mother a half blood herself – and so they more fully understood the hatred and intolerance that Lily and Marley experienced on an almost daily basis in the Wizarding World than Alice or her late sister could, no matter their sympathy.

"How are you Georgie?" Lily asked kindly.

"I'm brilliant. I got the prefect spot!" Georgie crowed excitedly. "Cassie told me that you were head girl. Did you hear who the Head Boy was?"

"Not yet. I hope to get a letter from Professor McGonagall that says who it is, but I may not find out until school starts."

Cassie interjected, "But who's the odds on favorite?"

Alice answered, "I think it'll be Remus, James, Eddie or Benjy. It would be too dangerous for the muggleborn students to put one of the Slytherin options in, Calhoun is just too thick to manage the position, and he'll be hard pressed to manage his NEWTs without Frank tutoring him in practically every subject."

Marley's eyes sharpened with interest, "If he's that thick, how is he even in consideration?"

"He's well connected – for all his idiocy, he's in the Slug Club," Alice said, and continued over Lily's interjection –"Don't call it that!" – rattling off the information, "his Uncle has a seat on the Wizengamot and his family is a major shareholder in the business that supplies most apothecaries and Hogwarts with potions ingredients."

"How is old Sluggy?" Marley asked impishly, her eyes alight with unholy glee. "Did he write his favorite student a lovely letter?" She pouted prettily and batted her eyelashes an absurd number of times teasingly at Lily.

"Don't say it like that; it sounds naughty," Lily chided primly. "_Professor Slughorn_ wrote me a letter of condolence in July and asked me if I would please accept the position of Potion's Club president."

"Again? Did he even need to write you? You've been president of the potion's club since fourth year, after Althea Hauptman had a nervous breakdown two months into term from her NEWTs," Cassie recalled.

"Did the other professors write you about their clubs?" Alice asked, knowing full well that they had not.

"No, the student election was at the end of term."

"Which ones did you get, Lily?" Georgie asked curiously.

Lily ticked off on her fingers, "Herbology, Transfigurations, Charms, and Potions. I missed the presidency of Arithmancy by…three votes; Suzie Bones got it." She gave a philosophical shrug.

"Probably a good thing. Lily, do you really think it's wise to have so much going on your NEWT year? You've got four clubs, the head girl spot, and all that on top of your classes; you're studying everything." Alice was concerned; Lily was obsessively organized when it came to her school work, often at the price of her sleep.

"No, I dropped Divination, remember? Very woolly subject if you ask me. It's just DADA, Transfigurations, Charms, Potions, History of Magic, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Herbology."

"And you didn't even mention the hours with the Matron," Cass chimed in. "How many do you spend there now?"

"Seven," Lily responded without thinking, before scowling. "One hour a day, and I alternate whether it's right after lessons or after dinner depending on whether or not I have patrol or clubs."

"You need to let loose," Alice declared, studying Lily's face. The pallor of her face had been mistaken for a summer spent inside and a naturally creamy complexion, but Alice was concerned it was something more. There was a tightness by Lily's eyes and mouth that worried Alice, and she turned to Cassie and Marley. "Lily, I want you to do one entirely selfish thing a week, and I want you two to make sure she does it. If that means skiving off Binns to take a nap or drinking firewhiskey until two in the morning when Gryffindor wins or kissing a random bloke, do it. Have some fun!"

"Its NEWT year; I can't skive lessons."

"Exactly, it is your NEWT year. I don't want you to get crushed with the work load. I want you to have a bright future Lily- you deserve it. But I want you to live long enough to enjoy it too. You've done most of the hard work already. You need to relax a little or you'll have a breakdown." Alice then changed the subject to Auror training and Marley's holiday to the South of France.

The girls ate the breakfasts they had ordered and spoke of inconsequential things. Eventually, the younger girls pulled out their school book list.

"Before we go anywhere else," Lily began, "I'll need to go convert money at Gringotts. Mum gave me enough and I'm almost all out of wizarding money. Just enough to cover my breakfast, in fact." Lily withdrew several sickles and some knuts.

Marley, Alice, and Cass did the same – Georgie looked hopefully up at her sister, who tossed some extra money on the table with a sigh – and then the party headed for the archway, which was opening already at the taps of a young redheaded woman who had a red headed baby in an old fashioned pram and two young boys of about four or five who were - by some charm - kept in the orbit of the pram, allowing them to only go so far from the carriage before they could not take one step further. Lily found it even more interesting when she realized that if one child moved as far as possible from the carriage, the other could not leave the carriage's side. She supposed it made it easier to keep track of your children if only one could wander far at a time.

Alice seemed surprised to see her and hesitantly said, "Molly?"

The woman turned, "Alice!" She greeted her warmly with a bone crushing embrace. "How are you? I have to do some shopping and my mum isn't well so I had to bring the children along." She laughed, "I don't know if you'd remember but this is Bill, then Charlie, and Baby Percy." Molly had shoulder length red hair that was pulled away from her face, which looked tired. Her figure still had the softness of one who had given birth not too long ago. She looked to be about thirty and a simple gold wedding band was her only jewelry.

Lily noted a softness in the woman's eyes that immediately endeared Molly to her.

Alice grinned and ruffled Bill's and Charlie's bright hair. "Of course I remember them. Hooligans," Alice pronounced, affection ripe in her voice. "Molly, these are my friends, Lily Evans, Marlene Wainwright, Cassandra Newsom and Georgiana Newsom. I think you may have met the Newsoms over the years and Marley, briefly, at the Potter's Yule Ball."

"Were you there last year?" Molly asked. "My husband Arthur and I were there for a little. We didn't want to leave the children in the nursery for too long. I know that the Potter's have the nursery set up for all the children so that their parents may enjoy themselves and not worry, but I just couldn't relax."

She turned expectant eyes on Marley, who answered, "I went with Andrew McKinnon."

Molly Weasley née Prewett smiled, "He's a lovely boy, and they're wonderful people. His mother is a dear." She looked at Lily, "You seem familiar to me, somehow. Would we have met? I don't suppose you're a relative," she joked, tugging on a lock of her own bright red hair.

Alice seemed to recall where the two could have crossed paths. "Molly is Gideon and Fabian Prewett's older sister," she explained to Lily, "so she attended the service for Cara. Lily was there and so were Marley and Cass," she said to Molly. At the mention of her brother's late fiancée, Molly's face was the picture of grief.

"He's not well," Molly said sadly. "He's mourning her something fierce." Lily was hardly surprised to hear that, considering how Gideon had practically dove into Cara's grave. He's looked horribly ill, skin ashen, and eyes vague, glassy as Mrs. Neville's had been. He'd been quiet except for his weeping at the funeral and Lily remembered how distressing Alice had found Gideon's behavior.

"Do you…do you think that would be alright for me to visit him? Would it cheer him at all?"

Molly considered, "I can't say, except that he does think of you fondly, and perhaps any visitors would cheer him. He's moved; didn't want to stay in the house he had gotten for Cara and him."

"He lives with Granny Prewett and Uncle Fabian again," Bill added helpfully.

Molly brushed a hand over his cap of red hair and gazed down at him sadly.

"I'll try to drop in this week," Alice promised. "But we'd all best be going. Don't want to linger in the Alley." With a brief embrace between the two almost sisters, and some hair ruffling, the two groups parted ways in the Alley.

Alice led them through the crowds and kept a discreet hand on her wand as did the other girls who were of age. Cassie kept a close eye on her younger sister who would be helpless as she was only just fifteen. They tried to spend as little time on the street as possible, deciding that caution was their best defense against attack, though it would be very unwise and bloody if there was an attack with it being just a week before Hogwarts began for the year.

Lily had been as quick as she could to switch out the pounds her Mum had given her for galleons, sickles, and knuts. Marlene had done the same with the money her father had given her, while Cassie and Georgie withdrew from the family vault with a signed missive from their parents, and Alice withdrew from her own vault with her key. As the last remaining heir of the Ancient and Noble House of Neville – a house that had old roots in the wizarding world and in the muggle world through their squib descendants who had married into the muggle royal family in Plantagenet times – Alice and her future children were set to inherit the formidable wealth of the Neville family. Alice had confided to Lily once that she would need to have at least two sons, one to carry Frank's surname and another to take her maiden name, so that both of the ancient family names would survive.

They'd gone into Flourish and Blotts and picked up the required books and Alice had pressed a slim volume that Lily had never read but had heard of into her hands. "For when you are relaxing. They're morality tales. Wizards use them to teach their children to be good and virtuous, helpful and brave. This edition is considered to be the closest to the original stories, gathered by Beedle the Bard. Personally, I like 'The Fountain of Fair Fortune.' Perhaps you'll write me when you've read it." Lily nodded, promising to do so.

They went to Madame Malkin's next, and got fitted for new uniforms. Alice gave her opinion on some new dress robes that Lily was purchasing for Slug Club parties and the ones that Marley was purchasing for when she was going to have formal dinners with Andrew and his family. Madame Malkin asked cheerfully intrusive questions as she fitted the girls and made some ribald jokes at Marley and Alice's expense.

They headed to the Apothecary and to other little shops along the way to pick up owl treats, new dragon hide gloves, and Alice had needed to pick up a necklace that she'd ordered for Frank's mother, whose birthday was approaching. The few times that Lily had met Madame Longbottom, she had like the older woman's no nonsense attitude towards the pureblood elitism that was a weed in their society, though the woman's soft spot for James Potter was clearly a flaw in otherwise good judgment. Alice had informed Lily that Frank's father was James's godfather and that both of James's parents were Frank's. Lily, Marley, Cass, and Georgie had made appropriately complimentary noises about the necklace until Alice had laughed. Alice had confessed just outside the shop that she'd found the thing hideous but knew that Augusta Longbottom would love it, as her future mother-in-law had expressed interest in a similar piece. Lily had giggled at Alice's comments about Augusta's favorite hat – a large emerald creation that bore a stuffed vulture.

Lily felt pity for pack mules, as she carted not only her own things, but some of Marley's too. When they finally made it back to the Leaky Cauldron and divested themselves of their many packages, Lily realized that more than half of what she, Alice, and Cass each carried belonged to Marley.

"Andrew must never want to shop with you," Cass griped, dropping Marley's bags in a pile. "He must feel like a clothing rack."

"Andrew _loves_ to go shopping with me," Marley retorted. "We just didn't go to his _favorite_ store. It's on the Muggle side."

Georgie asked innocently, "What shop?"

Cass's eyes burned at her friend. Marley laughed, "I'll tell you when you're older."

Alice laughed, "Like you were any older when you first went in."

"True," Marley admitted with a shrug.

The girls pushed two tables together and sat, talking and laughing. Georgie was about to order lunch when Marley sprang out of her seat with a shriek of excitement. She launched herself at a young man with short auburn hair and thick black frame glasses who wore finely tailored robes in deep indigo. He had dark blue eyes and long limbs, which had made him an excellent Keeper, when he had played for Gryffindor.

Alice was also out of her seat in a second to wrap her arms around her fiancé. Frank was tall, and lithely muscled, which made him even more intimidating in his black Auror trainee uniform, which matched Alice's. Where Alice's uniform lent her authority and severity, Frank's merely accentuated the danger he posed physically. Frank towered over Alice, and most other people. He had wavy golden hair, grey eyes, and a dimpled smile, and made a very striking couple with Alice.

The boys sat down next to their respective sweethearts. "Frank, how are you?" Lily asked warmly, for she had always liked Frank.

"Very well. Auror training is tiring, and Moody – Alastor Moody, he's the trainer that Dingworthy, Alice and I are assigned to – he's a believer in what he calls Muggle Calisthenics. He also likes to sneak up on us and shout "Constant Vigilance" into our ears." He grinned ruefully, and his boyish charm shone. "I heard from Alice that you were the new Head. We thought you would be. Did you hear who the new Head was?"

"No. How have you been Andrew?" Lily turned to Andrew McKinnon, who looked like he was about to fall asleep at the table.

Marley sighed, and ran a gentle hand over his hair to stir him. He sat bolt upright and said, "The Tabula Smaragdina was written by Hermes Trismegistos, and is a fundamental text of-" He made a choking sound and clutched his throat.

"Andrew?" Marley stared at him, wide eyed.

"I'm alright. I'm not allowed to talk about that project and I was just reminded of my oath."

"It chokes you?" Marley asked, horrified. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Employment oaths are common in classified work," Frank said, concern for his friend all over his face. "DOM is one of the most classified; when you get to be higher up in MLE, you have to take oaths, but we're just grunts still."

"But you were half-asleep!" Marley could not get past it. "Surely, it shouldn't enact while you're unaware of your surroundings!"

"It doesn't matter," Andrew said, taking her hand in his. "I have secrets of national security in my head. They teach you how to protect yourself and their secrets straight off. It's a three year apprenticeship before they trust you to touch anything. And another four before you can do unsupervised work."

"Merlin! It's less to be a healer and you're responsible for live people!"

"One at a time," Andrew argued. "With some of the thing the DOM studies, its millions of people's lives at stake."

There was silence while they all digested that information.

Andrew cleared his throat uncomfortably. "So, Lily. Have you decided on healing?"

"No, but I've certainly ruled out that experimental charms division of the DOM," she said with a somewhat forced smile. "It's between Healing, Teaching, or maybe something to better relations between the Ministry and Muggles."

"Since when?" Alice demanded.

"It's just a thought."

"Oh. Well, if you do decide to follow this thought of yours, let me know. Molly Weasley's husband, Arthur, works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. It's adjacent to the Muggle Liaison Office. Arthur loves Muggles and thinks they're endlessly fascinating." Alice continued, "I'm sure he'd be willing to give you a tour and answer your questions so long as you tell him about growing up muggle."

"Is it really so foreign, the way Muggles live, to you?" Lily asked.

Alice, Frank, and Andrew looked at each other.

"Certain things. Technology definitely, current music less so, but lots of cultural things. We don't know it or we're woefully out of date. I mean, we know that there is a monarch, but I couldn't tell you who. I know that the Muggles had a great war around Grindelwald's Rise, but I don't know why," Alice explained. "And we're better than most people who are raised exclusively in the Magical World. My family is very supportive of Muggleborn rights, as are Frank's and Andrew's. Frank's godparents took him into Muggle London as a child, and they gave us Muggle-made things for our engagement ."

"I didn't realize that they were such champions of Muggle things," Lily said.

"My godparents?" At her nod, Frank continued, "Oh sure, Uncle Leo and Aunt Emma are big supporters of Muggleborns. Uncle Leo's parents endowed the school with the funds for the Muggle Studies class and he and Aunt Emma revise the curriculum. They wanted lessons on classic muggle literature and music, as well as current trends in muggle culture and technology. There is some history in the class as well, but there is almost always an issue with finding someone to teach it. James has told me that his Mum has threatened to teach it herself several times."

"Really?" Marley asked. "She doesn't seem the type to threaten anybody. She's just so…so _proper_, and Grandmotherly in a make-you-biscuits way. "

"She's fierce," Frank said with a grin. "She was an Auror for a few years after getting her healer's qualifications. She and Uncle Leo were partners and their records still stand." He shrugged, "She's not been an active duelist from what I know since well before James was born. Once Uncle Leo stopped doing active field work, she retired from the Auror's and worked at St. Mungo's for a while. She's fully retired except for the charities that she chairs with my Mum and some of the other Mums and Grandmums, though I heard that just last week she took someone's mother to task about not being fully committed to equal rights."

As Lily trudged back into the hotel room with her shopping bags, her cheeks still hurt from smiling and laughing so much. If there was ever an antidote to Petunia and her cruelty, it was the warm embrace of her friends who could always cheer her. She jostled her bags around to open the door, and stepped inside to see a plethora of shopping bags from shops that were all over London. Clearly, her mum and Tuney had been very successful in their shopping trip as well.

"Lily, how was it? Did the girls have a nice summer?" her mum asked, looking up from her book. She was curled up on the little couch in the sitting area and had a cup of tea on the end table.

"It was great fun. Marley just got back from the Riviera a few days ago, and you'll never guess what Alice did."

"Did she and Frank elope?" Laurel laid her books on the table and looked at Lily eagerly.

"No! Well, I guess that would be bigger news, but Mum, she cut her hair. She cut it all off, shorter than a boy's. It looks wonderful, but I almost didn't recognize her. She was just off shift so she had her Auror clothes on and then, with the haircut. She said Frank misses it, but that's to be expected. Oh and Cassie made it. She had to bring Georgie – her sister," Lily prompted at her mother's blank expression. "Georgiana?"

"Oh, yes, of course. I remember now. She looked just like Cassie last time I saw her."

"She made prefect."

"Congratulate her from me, will you, Lily, dear?"

"Of course. How was shopping with Tuney? Speaking of, where is she?"

"Vernon picked her up after work and they've gone out to dinner."

"She left you here alone?"

"I knew you'd be back soon enough, and I thought we'd stay in and watch the telly, just the two of us, and order room service."

Lily cuddled onto the couch next to her Mum. "I love you, Mum. You're the best Mum in the whole world."

Laurel Evans put an arm around her youngest and held her tight. "I love you too, Lily. You make me proud every day." She scooted in on the couch so Lily could lay down next to her, "What brought that on? Not that I don't enjoy hearing such a nice thing from a grown daughter."

"I…I heard Petunia. Last night. What she said about wishing I'd never been born."

Laurel was devastated. "She didn't mean it, Lily. I swear, she didn't mean it. You have been a blessing to our family since you the day you were born. Your father and I loved you from the moment we knew you were on your way. Petunia was so excited when we told her she was getting a sister. She wanted to shop with me for clothes for you. She helped pick out the colors for your nursery. She was just five but she had a very decided taste. Your first outfit was a peach sleeper with lace."

"Last time I ever wore peach."

Laurel laughed, "Clashed awfully with your hair. You were born with the brightest shock of red hair, just like your Da, and green eyes. It was so unusual; most babies have blue, you know, but you had my eyes. You were such a beautiful baby, Lily, and you've grown up so lovely and strong. You were never afraid to try something new, to open your heart to someone. I hope that you are as blessed in your life as I am with mine." She kissed Lily's forehead, and gave her a squeeze. "We're going to visit your Aunt before you go back to school."

Lily suppressed a sigh. Her Great-Aunt Florence was her father's spinster aunt who Laurel corresponded with regularly. Laurel brought the girls to visit her during the summer holidays and Florence came to stay with the Evans family during the Christmas and Easter Holidays. As much as Alice had described Frank's gran as a harridan, she would look like Father Christmas in comparison to Lily's Aunt. Florence Evans had bad days and awful days; her bad days were like Petunia at her worst, while her awful days had reduced Laurel, Lily, _and_ Petunia to tears.

"Mum, must we visit her?" Lily asked hesitantly.

"We're the only family the poor woman has left."

"Poor woman? She didn't come to Da's funeral. My friend's parents who had never met Da came and _she_ didn't."

Laurel sighed, "She's old and sad, Lily. She couldn't handle it. She practically raised your father after his mother died. She moved in with her brother and kept house and raised him."

"I know. Don't you think that means she should have come?"

"I wish she had been there. But grief affects people differently, Lily. You told me about Alice's sister's service. That their mother was practically catatonic and the fiancé almost leapt into the grave with the coffin. Aunt Florence couldn't be there. But we have a duty to her and your Da to visit."

Lily sighed again and mentally committed herself to the duty visit. 

Florence Evans lived in a nursing home in near Bath, where she ruled as both the most elderly and most demanding patient. Lily, Laurel, Petunia and Vernon entered her room after knocking and being told to "Enter!"

Lily had the tin of biscuits that Florence favored, Petunia had the set of novels that Florence had told them to bring, Laurel held the charming bouquet of colorful flowers they'd gotten her, and Vernon held the umbrella that he and Petunia had huddled under in the pouring rain. Laurel's hair was damp under the scarf she'd tied over it, while Lily's dripped onto the floor, laying in wet coils over her shoulders.

Florence sat in her wingback armchair, cane resting on the arm of it. Her snowy hair was immaculately coiffed and her blouse was crisply pressed. The large glasses did nothing to detract from the ferocious, vulture like look that she gave them. "You're late. I expected you at half eleven." The clock on her table showed that they were ten minutes late.

"Aunt Florence," Laurel said with false cheer. "How are you feeling? We brought you flowers, books, and biscuits."

"I can see that. I've got eyes still, haven't I?" she snapped irritably. She glanced over at Lily. "Still messy, I see." Her eyes flicked to Petunia and Vernon. "Unmarried still. You haven't been anticipating your vows, have you? I read in the paper that it's quite common in your generation, but to behave so commonly." She tutted. Petunia was practically scarlet, while Vernon's piggy eyes wheeled about nervously. Lily simply closed her eyes and wished for the day to be over.

Laurel interjected, "We got caught in the rain on our way here, and poor Lily caught the brunt of it on our way in. I don't suppose she could use a towel to dry off?"

Florence scowled but jabbed her cane in the direction of the bathroom. Lily was off like a shot, depositing the biscuits on the table. She could hear her mother start to lead the conversation away from whether or not Petunia and Vernon were anticipating their vows, to a discussion of the shopping that Petunia and Laurel had done and Vernon's most recent accomplishments at Grunnings, the drill firm he worked for.

Once she was locked in the bathroom securely, Lily withdrew her wand from where she had hidden it, and cast a warming charm. She felt the delicious warmth roll down her spine and she shivered in spite of herself. She flipped her head upside down and rubbed at her hair vigorously with a towel from the linen closet.

She straightened her dress and took a deep breath, before sticking her wand back in its hiding place and emerging.

"Shall I make tea, then?" She asked cheerfully.

"Thank you, Lily. That would be lovely." Laurel smiled gratefully.

"No, I've got my tea already."

"Perhaps I should lay out the luncheon, then, instead, Aunt Florence." Lily glanced at her great-aunt, and did her best to look absolutely guileless.

"Perhaps." Taking it for what it was, Lily hurried to gather the things they normally ate for lunch.

Florence then proceeded to grill Vernon on his job, Petunia clutching his hand nervously beside her.

Laurel started to help Lily but kept an ear tuned to the interrogation going on in the sitting room. "Is she still coming for Christmas?" Lily mouthed to her mother.

Laurel nodded and Lily made a face.


End file.
